Two MEJ artists are represented in the latest edition of Mallorn, which I received promptly this week. Riv has two paintings - Smaug on the inside front cover and Beorn's Hall on page 8, while I'm absolutely delighted to say that my own Yavanna Kementári appears on the outside back cover. The reproduction is extremely good. I'm thrilled that Yavanna's reaching such a wide audience in the Tolkien world, especially as Jonick & I are unlikely to make it to Oxonmoot this year. I'd planned to exhbit her there, but we are in the throes of trying to move house . . .

Last edited by marbretherese on Sat Jun 04, 2011 2:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.

"Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back.
But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy."

As you may have guessed, some of our Middle-earth Journeys leadership have been busy with Real Life over the last several months and haven't been visiting here often. Our moderating rule here has always been 'Real Life First', so that's good! So we haven't put much (read: any!) thought into our annual Yule contest. I don't know about you, but I enjoy your entries so much that I think we should have a creative activity even though we don't have any voting or judging for a prize. So, my proposal: any entry, visual or verbal arts, around the theme of Yule and The Hobbit, due on January 6, for enjoyment only.

What say you?

Sing and be glad, all ye children of the West,
for your King shall come again,
and he shall dwell among you
all the days of your life.

My copy of Mallorn arrived today. Congratulations Iolanthe! It was a thrill to see your Treebeard on the inside cover. I love his little pot belly that looks for all the world like a tree knot and the twiggy shoots growing out of his fingers and toes.

Merry, I'm certainly on board for a Yule creative exhibition! Will have to see what bubbles up in the old brain.

Right now I'm working on a piece for another fandom -- Beauty and the Beast (the unique 1980s TV series starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman). I've never written anything in this universe before, but several people in charge of Winterfest Online came across my stories on Henneth Annun, made the connection with my online name, and asked if I'd like to submit something for this year's theme -- "Arthur at Winterfest." I came up with a really different twist, and I'm having a LOT of fun exploring these characters.

I'm sure I'll think of something Yuleish and Hobbity!

Lindariel

“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”

Greetings, all, and here's hoping you've had a great Yule Season! I don't know about you, but I haven't had a lot of time to work on anything creative for this thread, and January 6 is coming right up! Lindariel has also said that she has an idea, but isn't sure it will be complete for this weekend. So let's just consider January 6 a 'suggestion' and let the Muses work on their own schedules.

Whenever anything is ready, please post it in this thread.

Carry on!

Sing and be glad, all ye children of the West,
for your King shall come again,
and he shall dwell among you
all the days of your life.

Hello All! My apologies for not coming through with a Yule story. I still have an idea, but have had no time to develop it due to family health issues, a daughter in All-District Chorus (congratulations to Meliel on this honor!), and being swamped with work.

If you happen to be a Beauty and the Beast fan like me, please feel free to bring your Winterfest Candle and join us at Winterfest Online 2012, which will run through Feb. 12 with new entries everyday. Here's a link to the opening festivities http://www.batbwfol.com/winterfest2012/gh/welcome.asp

The world above us is cold and gray; summer, a distant memory. Our world too has known its winters, so each year we begin this feast in darkness, as our world began in darkness.

Long before the city above us raised its towers to the sky, men sought shelter in these caverns. In those days these tunnels were dark places, and those who dwelt here dwelt in fear and isolation.

This was a land of lost hope, of twisted dreams, a land of despair, where the sounds of footsteps coming down a tunnel were the sounds of terror. Where men reached for knives and rocks and worse at the sound of other men's voices.

At last a few people learned to put aside their fear. And we began to trust each other, to help each other. Each of us grew stronger - those who took the help and those who gave it.

We are all part of one another: one family, one community. Sometimes we forget this, and so we meet here each year to give thanks to those who have helped us and to remember:

Even the greatest darkness is nothing, so long as we share the light.

Lindariel

“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”

Looks like none of us had any real life time for creative work this Yule, Lindariel. But the invitation is always open! I never watched 'Beauty and the Beast', so I probably wouldn't know what you were writing about, but the invitation above paints a beautiful picture.

Sing and be glad, all ye children of the West,
for your King shall come again,
and he shall dwell among you
all the days of your life.

Merry, the television series was a very beautiful, romantic resetting of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale, bringing it into modern day (1980's era) New York City. Actor Ron Perlman (better known today as Hellboy) inhabited Vincent, a powerful but sensitive man with lion-like features who lives in a secret community in a deep labyrinth of tunnels below the subway system and steam tunnels of NYC. Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor in the Terminator movies) portrayed Catherine, a beautiful, wealthy socialite attorney. These two unlikely people meet when Catherine is mistaken for someone else as she leaves a party and is attacked, slashed, and left for dead in Central Park. Vincent, on one of his late night rambles in the park, discovers her and takes her Below to the man he regards as his Father, the leader of the Tunnel community, Dr. Jacob Wells.

Thus begins an enthralling and highly original retelling of this beloved tale of star-crossed lovers trying to bridge their two worlds -- Above and Below -- and to find their way to a happy life together. The series lasted for two full seasons and a third partial season. A Hollywood writers strike contributed to the demise of the show, as well as Linda Hamilton's departure to have her second child, which resulted in the writers deciding to kill her character. The fan base had fallen so completely in love with the Vincent/Catherine romance, that they simply could not accept the continuation of the series or the introduction of a new female character, Detective Diana Bennett played by actress Jo Anderson, as a new friend and perhaps a new love interest for the bereaved Vincent.

The series was a breakthrough in many respects. It was one of the very first "fantasy"-based television series. It also was one of the first to use a more cinematic approach to filming and to incorporate a fully orchestrated score. The community Below greatly values literature and education, so the series was full of references to Shakespeare, Rilke, Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Shelley, Wilde, Twain, Arnold, cummings, etc. In fact, Ron Perlman recorded a number of love poems spoken in his beautiful sonorous "Vincent" voice over pieces of the orchestrated score for the series.

The community Below introduces a variety of interesting characters, including very mechanically bright but emotionally and socially somewhat stunted young man named Mouse. The Arthur in my story is Mouse's pet raccoon. Winterfest is the annual festival held by the Tunnel community to thank their "Helpers" from the world Above and to remind themselves of their founding ideals. The story challenge I responded to was to write an adventure for Arthur that happens during Winterfest.

My daughters have thoroughly enjoyed this story, even though they never saw the original television series. I suspect if you choose to give it a try, that you'll find it to be basically accessible, with just this modest introduction.

Lindariel

“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”